For one man in California, it's to transform himself into a giant robot and teach the world to dance.

Chris Hirst has a destiny to become a one-man Robot Dance Party. And he's taken to an online fundraising site to make it happen.

OK - what Chris has is in mind isn't a 'real' robot, as such. It doesn't have a computer brain or gyros, or even the ability to move on its own. All it has are a giant cube head, long tube legs, clamps for hands, six speakers in the chest and a man inside the suit who loves to groove, automaton style.

Once suited up in his prototype, Chris goes to parks (or is invited to parties), walks around, waits for someone to plug in some music, and starts dancing. Soon more people are joining in. People smile. People have fun.

He has dreams of lights timed to flash with the music, an upgraded sound-system and a tablet mounted on the side to let dancers choose their own tunes. He also wants to build in a cooling system ("it gets rather hot in there") and maybe add some solar batteries. For this he needs $1,500 - not a small chunk of change, to be sure - but not impossible.

If Chris can get the money together, it's possible he can turn the Robot Dance Party into a living as well as a vocation.

But mostly he just wants to dance.

"I started this project because I love music and I love to dance," he says on his Kickstarter page.

"My goal is to amuse and entertain, but also to get people dancing. The Dance Party Robot creates a friendly and carefree environment that puts inhibitions at ease and helps people let themselves have fun.

"You could say he brings out the inner dancer in people through his charming smile and contagious dance moves. In a few of the robot videos that have been posted by fans on youtube you can see that even the camera operator can’t help grooving along to the beat."

So far Chris is doing okay - he has 23 backers and just over $400 of funding.

But if you want to see a little bit more robot boogie in the world and you have some spare change, consider sending it his way.

"I’ve been having the time of my life with this project," he says. "With your help I can take it to the next level."